Support for DOGE declining, poll shows

Support for the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) appears to be diminishing after two recent polls found that the share of respondents who backed either reducing or eliminating it had increased.

Newsweek contacted DOGE for comment via social media on Thursday.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed support for Musk, commending his efforts. In a recent Fox News interview alongside the billionaire, Trump suggested that DOGE’s cost-cutting measures could be Musk’s greatest accomplishment, even outshining his efforts at Tesla and SpaceX.

They have already initiated significant federal staff cuts and are threatening to close certain agencies and offices, affecting thousands of employees nationwide.

The polls indicate that these measures are unpopular, despite being a key aspect of Trump’s administration.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), accompanied by Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Personnel and Assistant to the President Taylor Budowich (right), speaks during President…

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What To Know

A survey by polling firm YouGov presented respondents with a list of agencies and departments, asking whether they should be expanded, kept the same, reduced or eliminated.

DOGE received the highest share of “eliminated” answers, at 29 percent. A further 8 percent said it should be reduced. Twenty-seven percent said it should be kept the same and 21 percent said it should be expanded. Another 17 percent said they were unsure.

The 37 percent who want it reduced or eliminated is up from a YouGov poll published a week earlier that found 34 percent wanted it reduced or eliminated.

DOGE was followed by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which saw a combined 35 percent say it should be reduced or eliminated.

The poll was conducted among 1,604 U.S. adults on February 23-25. YouGov said margin of error was about 3.5 percent.

What People Are Saying

Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, on Face the Nation on Sunday: “You’ve got Elon Musk taking a chainsaw to the federal government and important services, and there’s no Article 4 in the Constitution that gives Elon Musk that authority… the actions he’s taking are illegal, and we need to shut down this illegal operation.”

Elon Musk told the World Governments Summit in Dubai this month: “I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind. If we don’t remove the roots of the weed, then it’s easy for the weed to grow back.”